Washington DC No Longer African American Majority Population

 White House

Times and demographics have changed as Washington DC no longer has an African American majority living in the city. According to just released census data the non-Hispanic white and Hispanic population now makes up 50 percent of the population.

The appeal of life in Washington DC has simply resulted in changes that have pushed many lower income residents outside of the city. In other words the cost of living has risen as areas underwent changes to attract resident that enjoyed the close in and walking based lifestyle. In what is generally known as gentrification as lower income neighborhoods undergo renovation and increases in rent and sales prices, the former low income residents simply move out. In the case of Washington DC, many of those displaced low income residents are African American as their population decreased by 11.1% since 2000 while whites increased by 31.4% over the same period. With Hispanic blacks added to the number the total black population is 50.7%. An article titled “In D.C., blacks are no longer the majority” by Oren Dorell March 25, 2011 and published in USA Today breaks down the census figures.

This type of shift is not a surprise and is taking place in many areas of the United States as the shift from the suburbs to central city living is being driven by many factors including fuel prices and traffic congestion. It is just ironic for Washington DC to lose its status as a majority African American city with the first black President occupying the White House.

Who Is To Blame For Angry Black Women On Celebrity Apprentice

We have had our share of outrages over the promotion of the image of the angry black woman on television and in popular culture. Where do we place the blame for real life angry black women on a reality show like The Celebrity Apprentice?

The loudest outcries came over the Pepsi Max commercial aired during Super Bowl XLV. An article titled “'Angry black woman' Super Bowl ad promotes stereotypes” by Ronda Racha Penrice February 7, 2011 and published on the Grio website goes into the roots of the anger. That Pepsi Max commercial was a scripted, cast and produced piece. The Celebrity Apprentice is a very popular reality show starring real estate mogul Donald Trump and a cast of celebrities competing to win various contests or get fired. The 2011 seasons, from all accounts, has a toxic and anger fuel relationship between two cast members.

Star Jones formerly of The View on ABC and NeNe Leakes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta clashed on the show. Obviously details are not being released because all of the episodes have not aired yet, but Leakes went as far as to say that she would not spit on Star Jones if she was on fire. Apparently things became very heated. This will be great for ratings as viewers will tune in to witness the drama, but what about the image. These are real black women going after each other.

There are no fingers to point at some larger corporation as these folks are themselves and maybe that is the point. Those with knowledge of Star Jones and NeNe Leakes from past television appearances could see this coming a mile away if these two personalities were paired together for an extended period of time. Maybe these are two angry black women and it only reflects on them and not every black woman in America.